scholarly journals News from the Field

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (10) ◽  
pp. 542
Author(s):  
David Free
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Nonprofit Organization ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Educational Role ◽  
Library Network ◽  
Assessment Survey ◽  
Improving Student Learning ◽  
Library Impact

The Private Academic Library Network Inc. (PALNI) recently worked with The IDEA Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving student learning in higher education, to create a freely available assessment survey focused on the educational role and institutional effectiveness of the library. The results of the Assessment of Library Impact and Value survey provide insights on how best to implement improvements, allocate resources, and communicate with campus stakeholders at PALNI institutions. PALNI created the survey with the intention of making it open access, available for use, and remixing by other institutions.

Outcomes-based approach to quality assessment and curriculum improvement in higher education

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Tam
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Curriculum Improvement ◽  
Improving Student Learning ◽  
Views And Perceptions ◽  
Traditional Structures

Purpose – This paper was written for practitioners in higher education, including academics and instructional designers who are engaged in curriculum revision. It aims to examine the notion of outcomes-based education, survey the literature and provide a critical review of the outcomes-based approach to quality assessment and curriculum improvement in higher education. The outcomes-based approach is completely student-centred, which focuses on what students know and can actually do. Sharpening the focus onto student learning outcomes goes beyond mere tinkering with traditional structures and methods; it really constitutes a paradigm shift in educational philosophy and practice. Design/methodology/approach – This paper begins with a summary of developments in institutional quality assessment and curriculum improvement in higher education in recent decades. Then, it identifies the underlying concepts and principles that characterize the outcomes-based approach for the design and improvement of curriculum and instruction in higher education. Finally, the outcomes-based approach is critically reviewed for its value from the perspectives of both practical and philosophical considerations. Findings – In so doing, it is directed to the heightening of sensitivity as to the manner and situations in which the outcomes-based approach may be employed. Originality/value – A final note is that while learning outcomes approaches are useful, care is needed to take into account the different views and perceptions of those involved in defining learning outcomes and to keep the ultimate goal of improving student learning clearly in mind. Care must also be taken to avoid rigidity and conceptual reification during implementation in curriculum and instructional design.

scholarly journals Transforming The Institution from the Inside: Creating the Brave New Community College of the Future

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
Jim Riggs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Community College ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
College Leaders ◽  
Improving Student Learning ◽  
New Community

With rising and wide spread expectations that commu-nity colleges will become stronger forces throughout the nation, the stage is now set for these institutions to become even bigger players in the landscape of higher education, economic development and social justice by helping to create a more inclusive, well-educated and engaged citizenry. This article looks inward at what com-munity college leaders, faculty and student services pro-fessionals need to do to transform their institutions into colleges that are truly ready to meet these rapidly grow-ing expectations and to be able to take full advantage of these new opportunities. Four key areas at the institution-al level are discussed that must be addressed in order for community colleges to make substantial and necessary improvements in student learning and development. These include: (1) expanding the definition and under-standing of what leads to student learning and success; (2) realigning and tightly coupling every function and activity at the college to better support student learning and success; (3) confronting the myth that community colleges are innovative and flexible institutions; and (4) instituting a new kind of leadership that is focused firmly on improving student learning and success. There are enormous opportunities waiting for community colleges that will require dramatic transformation and change throughout the organization.

scholarly journals WISER Assessment: A Communication Program Assessment Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 134-144
Author(s):  
Michael Strawser ◽  
Lindsay Neuberger
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Recent Trend ◽  
Learning Outcome ◽  
Program Assessment ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Communication Program ◽  
Improving Student Learning ◽  
Ethical Communication ◽  
Improve Student Learning

Learning outcome assessment is a fairly recent trend in higher education that began in the 1980s (Lubinescu et al., 2001). Today, many faculty perceive assessment reporting to be tedious, time-consuming, and irrelevant busywork (Wang & Hurley, 2012). Unfortunately, this systematic process created to use empirical evidence to measure, document, and improve student learning has in many cases lost sight of this central goal. As a result, faculty may be justified in their opinions about it. This essay proposes a framework for addressing this thorny issue via WISER. WISER is an acronym for five content pillars of the communication discipline faculty can use to ensure their assessment efforts achieve the goal of not only documenting but also improving student learning. WISER stands for writing, immersive experiences, speaking, ethical communication, and research as programmatic assessment categories. These WISER categories extend the National Communication Association (NCA)-endorsed domains of communication learning in ways that make them functional for assessment.

scholarly journals The role of "open" in strategic library planning

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Petrides ◽  
Letha Goger ◽  
Cynthia Jimes
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Strategic Integration ◽  
Teaching Learning

Academic libraries are undergoing evolutionary change as emerging technologies and new philosophies about how information is created, distributed, and shared have disrupted traditional operations and services. Additionally, the population that the academic library serves is increasingly distributed due to distance learning opportunities and new models of teaching and learning.  This article, the first in this special issue, suggests that in today’s increasingly networked and distributed information environment, the strategic integration of open curation and collection development practices can serve as a useful means for organizing and providing structure to the diverse mass of available digital information, so that individual users of the library have access to coherent contexts for meaningful engagement with that information. Building on insights from extant research and practice, this article proposes that colleges and universities recognize a more inclusive open access environment, including the integration of resources outside of those owned or created by the institution, and a shift toward policies that consider open access research and open educational resources as part of the library’s formal curatorial workflow and collection building. At the conclusion on this article, authors Lisa Petrides and Cynthia Jimes offer a commentary on the six remaining articles that comprise this special issue on Models of Open Education in Higher Education, discussing the significant role that “open” policy and practice play in shaping teaching, learning, and scholarship in the global context of higher education.

scholarly journals From peril to promise: The academic library post–COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
L. Angie Ohler ◽  
Joelle Pitts
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Iterative Development ◽  
Scientific Advancement

As in so many other parts of our society, COVID-19 has forced many changes to the ways in which academic libraries operate. The response of higher education to the pandemic has revealed both how vital academic libraries are to the academic enterprise and to scientific advancement at-large through open access initiatives. It has also highlighted that libraries are not alone in confronting the long-term challenges of sustainability with respect to the current scholarly communication marketplace, and the affordability of higher education more broadly. For academic libraries to assume a leadership role in higher education’s search for solutions, we must first reconcile our own identity in the new landscape. We need to ground ourselves in a new way of operating: embracing iterative development techniques while deliberately combining collections strategy, digital initiatives, and outreach efforts to support open scholarship.

THE ROLE OF LIBRARY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (26) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhagvanhai H. Chaudhari
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Library Science ◽  
University Education ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
Library Network

The role of library and librarian in recent era has changed as a result of techno-driven world. Library is considered ‘the heart’ of a university or an institute offering higher education. After independence, the University Education Commission (1948-49) as well as Education Commission (1964) emphasized the need of academic libraries in India and suggested certain measures for betterment and effective management incorporating its organization, the availability of staff, open access system as well as financial support. University Grant Commission played a vital role for betterment of libraries in higher education by establishing Information and Library Network Centre (INFLIBNET). The SOUL (Software for University Libraries) developed by INFLIBNET centre, made available to its member free of charge, proved valuable in modernizing the entire set-up of academic libraries. The reservoir of Indian theses called Shodhganga, a database of thousands of theses from various universities across India has also become a chief source for researchers and academicians to seek the knowledge generated in various branches. The challenges like effective utilization of digital technologies, supporting access to Open Access Resources, etc. have not been overcome yet in every respect. The laws of library science designed by Dr. Ranganathan should be pursued firmly in a pragmatic manner. A quality education and research is not possible without a modernized library. Library is one of the major resources for the exchange of ideas. Academic and research work is very much preserved by library.

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